The leafy suburbs of Arcachon, almost as expensive as Surrey
You don't have to have lots of money to visit Arcachon but to live here would be quite another matter. Arcachon is south west France's answer to Nice and whilst not quite achieving it's south eastern cousin's caché and glamour it does come quite close. The Victorian style villas stand mostly hidden behind their high walls surrounded by tall trees and mature shrubs. The signal is loud and clear "you can admire but you can't touch" and you quickly realise why after a quick perusal of local immoblier shop windows. The typical villa following a distinct Basque style normally starts at 100,000,000 euros plus. Pine trees abound everywhere.
Fresh fish everyday, fantastic!
It was only about 150 years ago that what is now called Arcachon comprised a few wooden shacks in the Landes forest inhabited by mostly fisherman and a few peasants. Once the rich Borderlais got a whiff of the curative powers of a bit of salty sea air and the possibilities of longer lives (the French have always been obsessed by their health) a train line was developed westwards from Bordeaux and roads carved through the impenatrable pine forest to forge links to the coast and particularly the Bay of Arcachon.
The only way is up, tough going when the temperature is 30+
The town has prospered ever since, attracting film stars and sportsmen and women. Apparently Zinidane Zidane has a small pad across the water at Cap Ferrat. Alas Lesley and I could only run to a small log cabin on the beach nestling up close to the biggest sand dune in Europe known as the Dune de Pyla. This mass of sand measures 3 kilometres long, 500m wide and over a 100m high. We climbed it, up its steepest side, in blazing sun, the sun scorching our bare feet, we felt a little like some special forces cadre on a mission, then we realised all we were hauling was a couple of bottles of coldish water. It's at times like these that you think a bit about our boys from Hereford and their like. The view from the top is staggering.
Beautiful textures are revealed on this ancient sun bleached pine
The bay opens out in a broad sweep in front of you. As you gape at the scene a swoosh is likely to disturb you and you will be cast into temporary shadow as one of the many paragliders that enjoy thier sport here swings past in a great arc that will eventually take them round the nearby headland. This was the only sound that disturbed us atop the dune, meanwhile the startlinlgly blue sea beckoned us down the other side and within 5 minutes we were both enjoying a well earned dip. We had the beach to ourselves other than a couple of young fishermen who were trying their hand a bit further down the beach. The story during July and August is probably slightly different but on the two occasions Lesley and I have visited we have been blessed with empty beaches and incredible weather. Take time to marvel at the large lumps of Reich concrete that litter the cliffs and beaches. These formed a major part of Hitler's 'Atlantic Wall' and were mostly built with imported Slavic labour. Oh and one last thing, the quality of the light in and around the bay is really exceptional, so if you feel like exercising some of your paint brushes Arcachon is definitely worth a visit.
60 years ago this German gun turret formed part of Hitlers 'Atlantic Wall'
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